


Strut Your Stuff

by TheEmeraldBadger



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Hamilton References, Heathers References, Heathers typical vulgarity, Lance is a Musical Theatre nerd, Mean Girls References, Musical References, Not Beta Read, Rent References, We Die Like Men, allura and coran are confused, more tags will be added when more songs are added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2019-08-08 17:44:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16433969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEmeraldBadger/pseuds/TheEmeraldBadger
Summary: Lance is a huge musical theatre nerd, and has a habit of bursting into song whenever someone starts a lyric. Hunk and Pidge need to stop enabling him.





	1. Candy Store

**Author's Note:**

> Lance strikes me as the type to be into musical theatre, and a friend of mine has a habit of bursting into song whenever someone starts a lyric, be it intentional or not. Thus, this fic was born.  
> I’m not sorry.  
> ~ has been used whenever a line is sung.

The first time it happened was …interesting… to say the least.

Keith and Lance had been arguing about something, and it had to have been something minor, given that Keith couldn’t remember it. But given what happened after, it wasn’t really that surprising.

It was seven short words that set the Blue Paladin off, and Keith regretted as soon as “Are we going to have a problem?” left his lips.

Lance’s face lit up for a split second, lips stretched wide into a crooked grin, before his expression twisted into something condescending and slightly snobbish. Behind him, Pidge and Hunk exchanged an unreadable look, both seemingly fighting a smile.

“Are we gonna have a problem?” Lance repeated, his voice dripping with disdain. “You got a bone to pick? You’ve come so far, why now are you pulling on my _dick_?”

Keith took a step backward in complete confusion as Lance stepped forward, sneering.

“I’d normally slap your face off, and everyone here could watch.” Lance continued, spreading his arms wide as Coran, Allura, and Shiro entered the room.

“But I’m feeling nice, here’s some advice, _listen up biotch_!”

Hunk and Pidge fell into line behind the Blue Paladin, and the two began to hum a tune that was completely unfamiliar to him. Keith cast a desperate glance at the others in the room, but Shiro looked just as confused as he felt, and the two Alteans seemed to be on the border between confusion and curiosity. He looked back and _oh god_. Lance and the other two were swinging their hips to the hummed music, getting progressively closer to Keith each step.

“I like~” Pidge and Hunk sang, dancing along with Lance, albeit with less exaggerated movements.

“Lookin’ hot, buying stuff they cannot~”

“I like~”

“Drinkin’ hard, maxin’ Dad’s credit card~”

“I like~”

“Skippin’ gym, scaring her, screwing him~”

“I like~”

“Killer clothes ~”

“Kicking nerds in the nose~” The three sang the last line together, stalking forward, Lance kicking one leg up and _wow that’s a lot of leg._ Keith had no idea that Lance was that flexible. He absentmindedly noticed that neither Hunk nor Pidge tried the kick.

“What’s going on?” Allura whispered as the trio continued to sing.

“Is it some sort of Earthen ritual?” Coran asked.

“Woah! Woah! Woah! Honey whatchu waitin’ for? Welcome to my candy store, it’s time for you to prove you’re not a loser anymore, then step into my candy store~”

Lance was a surprisingly good singer, his voice was clear and confident, like melted chocolate if melted chocolate was a voice. Pidge was better that he’d expected, and Hunk had the voice of an angel.

“Guys fall~” Lance and Hunk chorused, leaving Pidge to sing the next line by herself.

“At your feet, pay the check~”

“Help you cheat~” Hunk had an extremely uncharacteristic look on his face as he sang.

“All you~” The three’s voices melded together nicely.

“Have to do~” Pidge smirked.

“Say goodbye to Shamoo~” Lance leant forward, wiggling his fingers.

“I have no idea what’s happening,” Keith whispered. “Lance and I were arguing about something, I don’t remember what, then he just started singing and Hunk and Pidge joined in.”

“It seems rather crude,” Allura observed as the trio continued to sing.

Keith had to agree, there was a lot of somewhat provocative hip movements in the dance, and what would be considered crude words in the lyrics.

“Course if you don’t care, fine! Go braid her hair, maybe Sesame Street is on~”

Allura and Coran both gaped at such uncharacteristic words coming out of Hunk’s mouth, although it was highly doubt-able that they actually got the reference. Maybe it was the tone of voice that had them gaping . Shiro had seemingly got an understanding of what was going on, if the lack of confusion in his expression was anything to go by.

“Woah~”

“Or forget that creep~”

Keith still couldn’t get over how beautiful Lance’s singing voice was, as Pidge continued the next line.

“And get in my jeep~”

“Let’s go tear up someone’s lawn~”

“Woah! Woah! Woah~”

The two Alteans seemed to have changed from being curious to just being confused. But they had to admit, the trio’s voices harmonised wonderfully.

“You can join the team~” Lance sang.

“Or you can bitch and moan~” The other two chorused.

“You can live the dream~”

“Or you can die alone~”

“You can fly with eagles~”

“Or if you’d prefer~”

“Keep on testing me~”

“And end up like her~”

At this point the trio had gotten into a row, and on the last note of the previous line pointed at the Red Paladin, who was still extremely confused. After a few seconds where the three didn’t sing and merely stood there, swinging their hips, Shiro opened his mouth to speak. However, Pidge chose this moment to strut past the other two.

“Honey whatchu waitin’ fo-“

She was cut off by Lance pushing her to the ground with a roar of “SHUT UP HEATHER!”

He continued to sing while the other two sang in the background.

“It’s my candy store, it’s my candy. It’s my candy store, it’s my candy. It’s my candy store, it’s my candy store-o-o-ore! ~”

On the final note the trio each struck a pose. After a few moments of holding it they broke, Lance reverting back to himself and whooping. He hi-fived both Hunk and Pidge before running from the room, still cheering. Hunk and Pidge grinned at each other and fist-bumped.

Allura stepped forward. “I don’t suppose either of you can tell us what just happened?”

Hunk grinned. “For as long as I’ve known him, Lance has been really into musical theatre. Did Altea have theatre?” Upon the affirmation that it did, Hunk continued. “If someone starts a lyric, whether they meant to or not, he can’t _not_ continue it. He’s been like this forever. In this case, it was Keith who set him off.”

“So why did you and Pidge join him?”

“What can I say?” Pidge smirked. “We’ve been corrupted. Hunk’s worse than I am.”

“Remember that time he climbed in the window while singing Dead Girl Walking?”

“Or that time he started belting Waving Through a Window after I insulted his driving skills?”

The duo left the room, still bantering, leaving the two Alteans, Keith and Shiro behind them.

“I would like to learn more about your Earthen theatre,” Coran declared, running after them.

“Didn’t you have a musical theatre phase?” Keith demanded, turning to face Shiro.

The Black Paladin shrugged. “I only listened to Hamilton.”

Shiro left the room, and Allura turned to face the one paladin left in the room.

“So this is normal for him?”

Keith was still somewhat confused.

“Hell if I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song used is Candy Store, from Heathers


	2. Guns and Ships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura asks a question, and gets more than she bargained for as her answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty short, and I am sorry for that.

“So how many musicals does Lance know?” Allura asked.

What Hunk and Pidge had dubbed the _Candy Store Incident_ had happened about a week prior to her asking the question. Honestly, Hunk was surprised that no-one had approached him earlier.

“A lot,” Hunk replied, casting his mind back. “Pidge was pretty much forced to spend time with us due to us being in a team, but I was his roommate, so I got more exposure than she did.”

“And how often does he… burst into song?” Allura questioned delicately.

Hunk smiled. “We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember… He did it a lot less when we went to the Garrison, and I’m glad that he’s comfortable around us that he’s doing it again.” His eyes glinted. “Watch this.”

Hunk cleared his throat. “How does a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower, somehow defeat a global superpower? How do we emerge victorious from the quagmire, leave the battlefield waving Betsy Ross’s flag higher?”

A yelp reached Allura’s ears as Hunk spoke, and she turned to look at the closed door.

“Yo. Turns out we have a secret weapon, and immigrant you know and love who’s unafraid to step in.”

Footsteps sounded from… somewhere, a thundering cacophony.

“He’s constantly confusin’, confoundin’ the British henchmen, evr’yone give it up for America’s favourite fighting Frenchman!”

The door burst open, Lance barging into the room with Keith and Shiro in tow, Pidge slung over one shoulder.

“LAFAYETTE!” Pidge and Shiro yelled.

“I’m takin this horse by the reins making Redcoats redder with bloodstains!”

Allura’s jaw dropped and Hunk bit back a smile. Keith looked flustered and extremely confused.

“LAFAYETTE!”

“And I’m never gonna stop until I make ‘em drop and burn ‘em up and scatter their remains! I’m-”

Despite how many times he heard it, Hunk would never not be impressed by Lance’s ability to perform this song. He never fumbled, never messed up, even with the accent. Having said that, Lance did have a tendency to speak rather quickly at times, maybe that was why he was so good at that rap.

“LAFAYETTE!”

“Watch me engagin ‘em, escaping ‘em, enragin ‘em! I’m-“

“LAFAYETTE!”

“I go to France for more funds-“

“LAFAYETTE!”

“I come back with more guns, and ships, and so the balance shifts~”

Shiro took on Washington’s lines, and Hunk, along with Pidge sat back to watch the carnage as Lance started rapping again.

“Sir, he knows what to do in a trench, ingenuitive and fluent in French, I mean-“

Hunk glanced over to the other two in the room. Allura looked vaguely impressed, and Keith’s face was red, gaze trained on Lance’s lips.. Hunk fought back a grin as Pidge met his eyes, a slightly confused expression upon her face. He subtly jutted his chin in the Red Paladin’s direction, Pidge glancing over. Her mouth formed an ‘o’, then a smirk flickered across her lips, before being quickly smothered.

Shiro sang the final lines, and he and Lance took a bow. Lance held his hand up for a high-five, and the Black Paladin gladly obliged, a large grin on his face, eyes sparkling.

“That was fun!”

“It was wasn’t it,” Lance replied smugly. “Hey Mullet, what’d you think?”

“It was… interesting,” Keith said, stuttering slightly with eyes darting everywhere except for the Blue Paladin’s face. He stood up and quickly speed-walked out of the room.

Pidge caught Hunk’s eye, and it was all over. The two burst into uncontrollable laughter, the other three looking on in confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used is Guns and Ships from the musical Hamilton.  
> I've also decided that this shall be a Klance fic, so it's time to update the tags.


	3. Sexy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a cancer mention, however it is part of the song. I figured I'd put a warning, just in case.  
> I hope you like the chapter, and I'm sorry it took so long.  
> Constant update schedule? Who's she? Never heard of her.  
> I hope you all had a good holiday!

“Party time!” Lance whooped from where he perched atop Hunk’s shoulders as the two paladins paraded around the other occupants in the room.

“That’s not quite what I meant,” Allura protested, and the duo turned to look at her. “The Jh’bhjns have very different customs to the rest of the known universe. The function they are hosting for us is their traditional Hijkaard, and they, well… we have to dress up, but not in the traditional paladin garb. We will be expected to dress as if we were trying to be something else. Their festivities tend to be raucous and-‘

Lance cut her off, eyes wide. “Are you saying that this is going to be like a Halloween party?”

Allura blinked. She didn’t know what a Halloween party was, nor why she could hear the capitalization in Lance’s words, but given the other Paladin’s reactions to his words she assumed it was at least similar.

“Could you describe what happens at one of your… Halloween parties?” She asked delicately.

Lance started to speak, but was cut off by Pidge. In increasingly loud voices as they tried to speak over each other the two gave a description of what seemed incredibly alike a traditional Hijkaard.

“That does seem very much like a Hijkaard,” Allura said slowly.

Lance’s face lit up, eyes glittering. “Do we have costumes?!?”

Coran spoke up from where he stood next to her. “We do, Number Three! If you’ll follow me, I can take you all to the room where all the clothes from traditional festivals and gatherings are kept.”

The Blue Paladin practically skipped after him as the orange-haired Altean left the room, the other Paladins following at a much more subdued pace. After a few moments of deliberation, Allura followed them. After all, she still didn’t know very much about Earthlings. Maybe seeing them in an environment similar to one they knew would yield more answers to the questions she had.

The room where they were kept wasn’t too far from the control room, a brisk five dobash walk. The room itself was surprisingly large, given its contents, but Allura had never cared much for ceremonial garb. Even so, Allura hadn’t so much as entered the room since coming out of the cryopod. All of the clothes she needed were kept in her own room.

She was dumfounded by the amount of clothes in the room, the number of different outfits had to have doubled since she’d gone under. Although that effect may have only been because she never really paid attention when she'd been there before... Pidge was on Hunk’s shoulders for some reason, and Keith could be spotted standing awkwardly next to Shiro. In the centre of the circular room Coran had one hand on Lance’s shoulder, talking to the him about something, but the brown-haired human didn’t seem to be listening. Instead he had his hands clasped together in front of his chest, starry eyes gazing about the room. His eyes alighted on something in the place where the wall met the ceiling.

“Are those speakers?” He asked Coran, cutting what the older Altean was saying off.

Coran looked slightly affronted at having his speech interrupted, but he spotted what Lance was looking at, and his expression softened. “Right so, Number Three. I’m surprised you could see them there.”

“Well I’m the team sharpshooter, I gotta have good eyesight.” He tapped the skin right next to his eye. “Twenty twenty vision, right here.”

Allura wasn’t sure what that meant, but if she had to guess it had something to do with one’s eyesight.

“They’re all around the castle, if you wanted we could probably connect your Earthling music-maker that you’re so attached to it.”

Allura didn’t know a face was capable of expressing that much happiness, but apparently Lance’s was. In the corner of her vision she could Keith’s face was unnaturally red. She’d have to ask him about that later. It wouldn’t do to have one of her paladins unwell, and a red face was a symptom of quite a few universal diseases, some of which the cryopod wouldn’t work on, so if he _was_ sick they could catch it early.

Meanwhile Lance had apparently connected his music-maker to the speakers, and a strain of music began to play. Lance’s expression conveyed pure glee, while Pidge had gotten off Hunk’s shoulders and started to bang her head against the wall. Hunk looked seconds away from joining her, and although the other occupants of the castle (namely Shiro, Keith, Coran and herself) had gotten somewhat used to the Blue Paladin’s musical outbursts, this was the first time he’d had accompanying music.

“If I could change the world, I’d make it Halloween! Every single day, and also have world peace… Maybe world peace should be first?~” His singing sounded unsure. “World peace and then Halloween…~”

In Allura’s own opinion peace should always come before frivolous holidays, but maybe humans had different moral systems. Either way, even though logically she knew she should try to quiet the Blue Paladin and help them all prepare for the function, she just stood back, content to enjoy the show.

Lance requested a restart, and the opening bars of the music played again. “If I could change the world, I’d make it have world peace. And also Halloween~” He grinned sheepishly, “Every single day.”

Keith and Shiro had looked over when the music started, also knowing that whenever Lance got into a mood like this there was no stopping him. And with the music playing along quite the performance was expected.

“On Halloween, you can pretend to be someone else. It’s like the internet, only in person, and with candy~” Lance crooned.

The music changed, gaining a different feel to it.

“When you are the hot one, it’s a full time gig, looking like what people wanna see~”

Allura fought back a flinch when voices chimed in from seemingly nowhere.

“Once a year I am not, I dress up and dream big, disguised as someone who is not me but is still hot~”

The music picked up slightly as Lance burst into the chorus, prancing over to Hunk and draping himself across his shoulders.

“I can be, who I want to be and sexy! I can be, who I want to be and hot~”

At the end of the line Lance broke away from his best friend and posed, hand moving in a way that would have been a hair flip if his hair was longer, flirty smile upon his lips.

“Don’t like who you are, then hit that costume shop, rock a new and different sexy look~” Lance sang, flouncing over to a rack of clothes, snatching one up at random and holding it up to his body.

Allura had to stifle a laugh, as the outfit he’d picked up was a slinky red gown with a long slit up one side, bedazzled with what the paladins called sequins. The Blue Paladin didn’t look embarrassed at all, placing the garment back on the rack without so much as a glance and continuing on with the song. The background singers chimed again, but she was prepared this time.

 “Why be so downhearted, blast some trashy pop, and drop it to this hot and sexy hook~”

Lance sashayed around the room, roping Hunk and Pidge into his dance as he sang.

“I can be, who I want to be and sexy~”

He twirled under Hunk’s arm, then broke away to grab Pidge and dip her low to the ground.

“I can be, who I want to be and hot~”

Despite the tone of the song, Pidge looked to be enjoying herself, whooping when Lance pulled her out of the dip and posed along with him in a way that looked practiced. Even the way she showed no fear when her whole weight was in the usually flippant paladin’s hands suggested that they’d done this before.

“Be somebody new, do a total transformation~”

Lance let Pidge and Hunk escape, and he continued to sing, shaking his whole body along with the music, and snatching a feathery green scarf from a box of fabric.

“Animal or mineral too, or even vegetation~”

He slung the green scarf around his neck, grabbing a short yellow dress and holding up to his body.

“I give you sexy corn.” He didn’t look abashed at all, despite the manner of the character he seemed to be portraying. He discarded the dress back onto the rack, keeping the scarf around his neck.

“I can be who I want to be, and sexy~”

As he sang his eyes scanned the room for new victims. His gaze alighted on Keith and Shiro still standing awkwardly to the side, although Shiro’s head was bopping along to the music, and Keith was pointedly not looking at him at all. His lips twisted upwards, yet he didn’t miss a single lyric.

“A sexy quint from sexy Jaws, catching sexy sharks. Sexy Eleanor Roosevelt or sexy Rosa Parks~”

Allura had no idea who those people were, and just added to the questions that were piling up in her brain. Despite seemingly being really into the song he was singing, and the fact that he wasn’t facing towards them Lance kept his eyes on the two dark-haired paladins standing by themselves.

Lance sprung up next to Hunk with a slim book in one hand. She had no idea how he’d gotten it, or what it was, but as he sang Lance pretended to be showing Hunk something that was in the book, flipping through it and pointing at pages at random.

“I can be a sexy pirate, or a sexy ballet dancer. I can be a sexy doctor and cure some sexy cancer~”

He paused, looking up at Hunk with what looked like genuine confusion etched into his features. However Allura had seen him acting before, able to pick up and drop personas at the drop of a hat. “That’s not right, is it?”

“No,” Hunk replied, amusement colouring his features and a laugh backing his voice.

Lance drooped, but sprung back up almost immediately, exclaiming; “I can sexy cure some cancer!”

“No!” Pidge chimed in, apparently not content for Hunk to get the spotlight.

Lance wilted again, looking off to the side with a pout before bouncing back into the confident, ditzy persona. “I can cure sex cancer!”

“Sex cancer doesn’t exist,” Hunk and Pidge said in unison, and Lance swivelled around to look at them, face split in a wide grin with sparkling eyes.

“I did it!”

An instrumental began to play and Lance began to strut again, advancing on the two standing aside. Coran appeared beside her, bopping along to the music but content to watch the paladins having their fun. Hunk and Pidge had started dancing again, and Lance had taken the feathery scarf from around his neck, using it to pull Keith close as he danced. The Red Paladin’s face had gotten even redder, and although Lance was oblivious Allura was not. Apparently Keith wasn’t sick like she’d thought.

“Happy Halloween!” Lance proclaimed, flouncing away and leaving a shell-shocked paladin with green fabric draped around his shoulders. Shiro barked out a laugh and began to dance too, albeit less provocatively than his blue counterpart had.

“This is modern feminism talking, I expect to run the world in shoes I cannot walk in~” Lance sang, flaunting a pair of the highest heels Allura had seen. She didn’t even know how or where he got them from.

“I can be who I want to be, and sex, sex, sexy~~”

He flitted from rack to rack even while he held the note, apparently searching for something. Allura wasn’t entirely sure what, but if she was going by the standard of the performance she’d just seen it had to be impressive. Lance disappeared behind a rack, appearing again in less than a tick wearing something atop his head that looked like ears and a short, pale-brown coat thrown over his shoulders.

“I’m a sexy mouse.”

Allura had to raise an eyebrow at that, even as the music shut off. He hardly looked like a mouse. She fought down the urge to jump as the music started again. Lance’s grin grew as he discarded the coat, hanging it back up and opening his mouth to start again only for Hunk to shut it off with a decisive tap at the screen of the music-making device.

“No,” Hunk said resolutely, not wavering in the face of Lance pouting with eyes that were much bigger than normal and tugged at her heartstrings. Not that Allura ever let anyone know, but she had a soft spot for creatures with big eyes.

“Demon,” Pidge gasped quietly. “Not even Shiro can withstand the kitten-eyes.”

“Shiro didn’t have to share a room with him,” Hunk said, turning to face her. “It took me a while, but I have immunity. Plus, Lance I think you broke Keith.”

“No I didn’t,” Lance denied, adamantly not looking in the Red Paladin’s direction. “How would I do that? He doesn’t like me. I’m just lucky he didn’t stab me.”

The three broke down into friendly bickering, and Allura risked a look towards the paladin in question. Shiro stood next to him, apparently fighting off a laugh as Keith stood there, still stunned, and with a face as red as the lion he piloted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I created an entirely new alien species and culture all for the sake of adding one song. It worked though, this chapter is over 2,000 words long, which is quite the improvement on my previous chapters.  
> The song used is Sexy from the Mean Girls Musical, and I listened to it on repeat the entire time I was writing this. That's over 3 hours of repeating the same song, and I don't want to hear it again for a week at least.  
> And I suppose this could count as a Halloween chapter, but if Thomas Sanders can upload a Halloween episode of Sanders Sides on Christmas Day, then I can post a Halloween chapter almost a week after.


	4. Out Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place shortly after the previous chapter.

If there was one thing that Pidge had to say about the Jh’bhjns, it was that they knew how to party.

They were a species of vaguely humanoid aliens, with long limbs and large eyes. From what Pidge had seen their clothes tended to be light and billowy, brightly coloured fabric draped from their shapely curves. They were also very tall, something that she resented very much.

The High King of the planet towered over Allura as they spoke, shiny metal jewellery glinting gold in the light and jangling as their multiple arms gestured wildly along with whatever they were speaking about. Probably something exciting Pidge mused, given the passion the ruler was displaying. All of the Jh’bhjns were very high-spirited, but the amount of energy being given off by that one being was almost Lance-like.

Speaking of, where was he? Pidge wasn’t a people person, she was much better with machines than organic beings, so she stayed next to Keith, the two of them standing somewhat awkwardly next to the equivalent of a punch table. Although, to be fair, the drinks _were_ more like slushies.

Scanning the room, Pidge’s eyes finally fell onto the person she’d been looking for. A Jh’bhjn had one arm over his shoulder, and another two around his waist as the duo danced animatedly.  Lance had (somehow) found a form-fitting blue jacket in the costume room, done up at the front with silver buttons, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He’d had to alter it for it to fit him so well, surprisingly all of them with his sewing abilities. A short grey skirt and knee-length blue socks accentuated the long plains of his legs, further emphasised by the heels that he rocked like a runway model. He’d pouted when he found out that, given their chameleon-like abilities, Alteans had no need for wigs, but he’d stopped complaining fairly quickly.

She was overcome with awareness of how red Keith was next to her, and made a mental note to add more to her bet with Hunk. As far as she could tell, Lance was completely oblivious to Keith’s growing feelings, and there was no way that he was going to confess first.

Her attention was drawn away from her thoughts by Allura appearing next to her.

“I thought you were talking with the ruler of the Jh’bhjns,” Keith said, folding his arms awkwardly.

“I was,” Allura replied. She looked uncomfortable. “Some of the traditions have changed since Coran and I went into cryo-sleep ten thousand years ago. One of the new ones implemented is for the visiting dignitaries to provide entertainment. I thought that maybe Lance and either you or Hunk would be able to perform something from one of your Earth musicals?”

“I’m sure Lance would be thrilled,” Keith deadpanned, voice sardonic but body language uneasy.

“I also thought that, but I wanted to get his assent before I informed the High King of our decision.” Allura said, shifting on her feet. She’d dressed as some character from Altean mythology, in a shimmering golden gown, with floaty semi-translucent sleeves and a modest sweetheart neckline.

Pidge let her gaze drift across the room again. Lance and the Jh’bhjn he’d been dancing with had been joined by Hunk at some point, the other teen dressed in an outfit that looked like it had been plucked from revolution-era America. Lance had taken it upon himself to tie Hunk’s hair up in a ponytail at the top of his head, and it still hadn’t come undone, despite it being put in hours ago.

“I’ll get him,” Pidge volunteered, leaving the two and making her way across the enormous room. Upon closing in towards the other two members of what Lance had dubbed _the Garrison Trio_ , Hunk spotted her and elbowed Lance in the side. The blue-eyed teen glanced towards her, eyes brightening when they landed on her.

“Pidgey!” Lance called, waving energetically. “Come meet Aehirre!”

The Jh’bhjn by his side (newly dubbed Aehirre) chuckled, raising a six-fingered hand to cover their mouth as their face blushed gold. 

“Allura wants to talk to you,” Pidge said, pointing towards where the princess stood, still next to Keith but joined by Shiro, who they (Lance and Pidge) had made dress in a black leather getup, and Pidge had painted a red star on the shoulder of his metal arm. Coran and Allura hadn’t understood,  but then again, they hadn’t gotten any of the human’s costumes.

“Uh, okay. Sorry Aehirre, I gotta go talk to the princess, I think I’ll be back, hopefully…” He left, making his way over towards the trio at the table.

Five minutes later, Lance had returned with a quick apology to Aehirre and dragged Hunk and Pidge away with him.  After a quick whispered conversation between the three (“I will not do Dead Girl Walking with you,” “What about I Will Be There?” “That’s not bad, but I have a better idea for you,” “I’m listening,”) Pidge found herself next to Allura, with Lance up on what was a lot like a stage, but with railing on the edge as the opening bars of a familiar song played from _somewhere_.

Apparently the Jh’bhjns were famous for having technology that was compatible with almost all other technology in the universe, and she itched to get her hands on some of it.

“What’s the time? Well it’s gotta be close to midnight~” Lance sang, having acquired a loose robe from somewhere and donned it atop what he had been wearing, and leaning against the railings at the edge of the stage. “My body’s talking to me, it says ‘time for danger’~”

Well, Pidge knew what song it was now. She risked a glance over at Keith, the poor pining fool. His expression was carefully neutral, but she knew that what was coming would flame his pale complexion as red as the lion he piloted.

“It says ‘I wanna commit a crime, wanna be the cause of a fight’~” He made a boxing-type move with both hands clenched into fists, smile that bordered on sultry not leaving his face for even a moment. “I wanna put on a tight skirt, and flirt with a stranger~” In a move that Pidge knew for a fact was practiced Lance slipped the robe off of his shoulders, dropping it to the ground to reveal that he’d changed outfits, discarding azure jacket and short skirt for a close-fitting almost silver-grey crop-top and equally tight sky-blue leggings. It made sense, Pidge supposed. They’d be a lot easier to dance in than his earlier getup, especially given the song Lance was performing. She squinted Keith, and yes, her prediction had come true. His face was flushed scarlet, across his cheeks and the tops of his ears. Objectively, it wasn’t a bad look on him, and she quickly snapped a picture. For ~~blackmail~~ purely innocent reasons, of course.

Lance stepped up to perch on the railings, eyes practically sparkling and hands splayed in the air. “I’ve had a knack from way back, at breaking the rules once I learn the game, so get up! Life’s too quick, I know someplace sick, where this chick’ll dance in the flames~”

The lick of amusement that sparked in Pidge’s chest was almost sinful as she subtly observed the darkening of the blush upon Keith’s face as Lance’s hips swayed along to the music.

“We don’t need any money, I always get in for free,~” Lance sang, making a gesture as if touching up makeup, dart of tongue poking out from between pearly-white teeth. “You can get in too, if you get in with me... Let’s go ou-ooooot tonight, uh-huh, I have to go ou-ooooot tonight. You wanna play, let’s run away, we won’t be back before it’s New Year’s Day, take me out tonight.~” He grinned, making as if to sit on the rail with crossed legs, then dropping into what was basically a split, legs snapping out to support his weight on the rails. “ _Meow_.”

“I’m not sure whether Allura is going to kill him or congratulate him,” Hunk murmured into her ear. She jumped, spinning and punching him in the side.

“What the quiznack?” she hissed, torn between not wanting to look away from the stage where Lance was taking advantage of the lack of lyrics in this part of the song and dancing even more exuberantly than in the parts with words, and wanting to know what the hell Hunk was on about, and when he got next to her. Seriously, either the guy had some serious stealth skill (unlikely), or she’d been way too invested into Lance’s performance. It was probably the latter.

“She’s under the impression that Lance and Keith are a _thing_ , and as much as I love Lance he’s an oblivious fool. I think the only person more oblivious to this than Lance is Shiro, and I still don’t get how either of them don’t see it.” Hunk sighed, bringing a hand up to rub between his eyes. “Get this, Keith thinks Lance is straight.”

Pidge blinked. And blinked again. Then she rubbed at her ears, making sure she wasn’t hearing things. “You’re kidding me.”

“Nope- oh Lance is starting up again, we’ll have to finish this conversation later.”

With that, Pidge returned her attention to the stage, where Lance stared across the attentive audience with an almost sultry smirk.

“When I get a wink from the doorman, do you know how lucky you’ll be? That you’re online with the feline of Avenue B?~”

Only months of watching Lance practice antics more dangerous than the one he was pulling kept Pidge from losing her cool at that point, given that the Blue Paladin was currently hanging _upside-down_ off of the rails. If she hadn’t seen him perform stunts pretty much exactly like this, she’d be mildly impressed.  

“Let’s go ou-oooot tonight, I have to go ou-ooout tonight! You wanna prowl, be my night owl? Well take my hand we’re gonna howl, out tonight~”

Pidge absentmindedly wondered when he’d trust the others enough to pull out the big guns. It was all fun and games, until he busted out Newsies.

Lance swung down to sit on the stage, one hand up and resting loosely on the rail above him. “In the evening I’ve got to roam, can’t sleep in the city of neon and chrome. Feels too damn much like home when the Spanish babies cry-y-y-y-y-y.” That section he sung in a soft, almost crooning tone of voice, a stark contrast from the feel of the rest of the song. “So let’s find a bar, so dark we forget who we are, where all the scars from the nevers and maybes die~”

“Do you think that next time we have to do something like this he’ll let us do Sincerely Me with him?” Hunk asked, not taking his eyes away from the performing Paladin, who at this point had leapt from the stage into the audience, and was currently hyping up the crowd.

“Maybe,” Pidge answered. “Depends on what kind of mood he’s in.”

“Do you reckon that I can convince him to sing The Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into at Keith?”

“If anyone could get him to do that, it’d be you.”

“Please take me ou-oooot tonight, don’t forsake me, ou-ooooot tonight~” Lance climbed back up onto the stage with a kind of grace that betrayed ages of practice, eyes gleaming as he launched into the final stretch of the song. “I’ll let you make me ou-oooot tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight!”

He finished with a fist punched into the air and a heaving chest, eyes glittering and lips stretched into a grin so wide it was a surprise that his face hadn’t split in two. It was at time like this that Lance really got to express himself and shine. Sweat glistened on his skin, but the raw elation in his eyes was unmistakable.

If there was one thing Pidge could say about Lance in situations like this, it was that he really knew how to put on a show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used it Out Tonight, from the musical Rent. This song was actually suggested by Lorn, so thanks for that. You're actually the reason I got into the musical Rent in the first place. :)  
> If anyone wants to suggest a song that you'd like me to implement, feel free to do that. I love hearing your guys's suggestions!  
> Also, are songs from musicals by Team Starkid fair game? I think they are, but I wanted to check in with you guys first.  
> If you want an idea of what Lance was actually doing (because I didn't really describe it in much detail) check out the recording of Renee's 'Out Tonight' performance on youtube. It's what I took heavy inspiration from for this chapter, but the video is a bit different at the ending than performance Lance gave is.  
> I hope you all had a good holiday!


	5. Big Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, I haven't watched Season 8, and I don't intend to. I got half-way through the first episode, then got really bored.  
> This chapter was inspired by a comment from DeviJhonas, so leave a comment on this if you want a certain song featured in this fic.

To put it simply, the battle was going terribly.

There were battleships separating all of the Lions, so they couldn’t form Voltron. Every time a Lion took down a ship, another three took its place.

“Well isn’t this big fun,” Keith muttered.

The coms, previously spotted with chatter from Pidge, Hunk and Lance, fell silent. A tired spark of Red’s amusement flickered across Keith’s consciousness.

“No.”

Keith could practically feel the pout resonating from Lance to Shiro’s deadpan tone.

“But Shiro…” Lance whined, Pidge’s snickers providing a comedic backdrop to his disgruntled voice.

“We’re in the middle of a battle,” Shiro reprimanded, “It’s not the time. You need to act your age.”

As if on cue music started blasting, drowning out Shiro’s tired sigh.

“Dad says act our age, you heard the man it’s time to rage~” Lance sung, and out of the corner of his eye Keith could see the Blue Lion blasting a Galra ship out of its way.

“Blast the bass, turn out the lights, ain’t nobody home tonight~”

It was as if the moment the music began to play the Blue Lion returned to the energy levels that she’d been on at the start of the battle.

“Drink smoke, it’s all cool, let’s get naked in my pool~”

Shiro really should consider letting Lance play music during battles more often if this was the affect it had. He and Blue were fighting with a new vigour as he belted out the words, lyrics flying from his tongue with an unmatched confidence. Keith absentmindedly wondered how much Lance had practiced these songs to sing them with such tenacity as he directed Red out of the way of a blast from a Galra ship.

“Punch the wall and start a fight ain’t nobody home tonight~”

Red lurched to one side, and Keith growled low in his throat, inwardly cursing letting his attention be drawn from the matter at hand. He was in a battle, this wasn’t the time for distractions. He put Lance’s voice out of his head, and focused on blowing the Galra cruiser that had hit Red to high hell.

He had to admit, the music wasn’t a bad backing track, and if they were in a different situation he’d probably enjoy listening to it, but _now wasn’t the time_. Keith banished all those unhelpful thoughts to the back of his mind. He’d come back to them later. Probably. For now, he had a battle to fight.

A sharp shout from Shiro had Keith letting the coms back into his sphere of attention. Black had taken a fairly nasty hit, but was fine to keep fighting. The trio had stopped singing upon hearing their leader’s exclamation, but at his reassurance that he was fine they started back up again. Lance had missed a few lines, but was somehow able to pick up right where the song did. Or at least Keith assumed he did. He hadn’t heard the song before, but it sounded right.

“We’re up till dawn, having some big fun! Big fun! When mom and dad forget to lock the liquor cabinet, it’s big fun! Big fun~”

“So wait, it’s lime, then salt, then shot?” Lance spoke, apparently done with singing for the moment. Or not, maybe it was one of those musical interludes Keith had been on the receiving end of a lecture about too many times.

“No, salt, then-“

Pidge cut Hunk off with a voice that sounded like a bad impression of Lance during the _Candy Store Incident_. “You’re doing it _wrong!_ ”

“Really? ‘Cause I feel great!”

“Veronica, you’re looking good tonight!” Hunk had lowered his voice to a significantly lower pitch, further proving Keith’s suspicions that they hadn’t actually finished singing. They didn’t have a Veronica on the team. As if on cue (and it definitely was), Lance started singing again.

“Whoa. A hot guy smiled at me without a trace of mockery, everyone’s high as a kite, ain’t nobody home tonight~”

A wing of the Galra cruiser to Keith’s left exploded, and the Blue Lion came spiralling out of the blast zone. If he hadn’t been musically preoccupied, Lance would’ve been whooping as he swooped past Red’s tail to blow up another Galra fighter.

“Stoned, zoned, I should quit. Is that weed, I wanna hit! Fill that joint and roll it tight, ain’t nobody home tonight. Dreams are coming true, when people laugh but not at you! I’m not alone, I’m not afraid, I feel like Bono at Live Aid~”

It almost looked like the Blue Lion was dancing, the way she tore through Galra ships managed to be both ferocious and graceful, a beautiful fusion of the two opposing adjectives.

“The house is ours, it’s time for big fun! Big fun! Let’s use their showers, it’s time for big fun! Big fun! Crack open one more case~” Lance’s voice dropped back to his regular speaking tones, “I think that’s what they call third base,” then returned to the singing pitch. “Big fun! Big fun! Big fun!~”

Keith suddenly felt that he should be doing more.

“That actually looks like big fun! Big fun! Big fun!~”

Pidge began to speak, and Keith tuned her out. He didn’t have time for distractions, they were in the middle of a giant space battle, and his attention needed to be on the fight at hand.

“The party’s hot, hot, hot, it’s time for big fun! Big fun!~”

“You need a jello shot,” Hunk cut in, back to his low voiced persona.

“We’re having big fun! Big fun!~”

“Martha Dumptruck, in the flesh~” Pidge sang, voice slightly distorted from exhaustion but still just as high-energy as Lance.

“Here comes the Cootie-Squad, we should-~”

Hunk was cut off by Pidge for the second time that song. “Shut up Heather!”

“Sorry Heather,”

Lance chimed in with a voice pitched slightly higher than his normal baritone. “Look who’s with her- oh my god~”

“Dang! Dang! Diggety-dang-a-dang! Dang-dang! Diggety-dang-a-dang!~”

The three voices harmonised beautifully together, and a odd feeling crept up Keith’s throat. He wasn’t jealous. He _wasn’t._ He tuned their voiced out, turning back to the battle at hand and choked. Was the Blue Lion… _moonwalking…_ on top of a Galra cruiser? Apparently she was. Okay then.

“Dang, dang, diggety-dang-a-dang! Dang, dang, diggety-dang-a-dang! Dang, dang, diggety-dang-a-dang!  Diggety-dang-a-dang!~”

Before this day, Keith had never thought of dancing as a valid fighting technique. Well, consider his mind changed.

“The folks are gone, it’s time for big fun! Big fun! We’re up till dawn having some big fun! Big fun!~”

The battle was almost over, only a smallish spattering of Galra fighters and one big cruiser left. Lance’s musical rampage had really turned the tides.

“So let the speakers blow, they’ll buy another stereo! Our folks got no clue about all the shit their children do! Why are they surprised? Whenever we’re unsupervised, it’s big fun! Big fun! Big fun! Big fun! Big fun!~”

On their final “Whooooo!” the final Galra cruiser exploded, perfectly in sync.

“Yeah!” Lance panted, a visual of his crooked grin and gleaming eyes appearing on Red’s dashboard.

“We didn’t even need to form Voltron,” Hunk cheered.

“We didn’t,” Shiro acknowledged, a proud smile appearing on his face.

On her image on Red’s dashboard Pidge leant back in her seat, pressing her hand to her heart. “I guess Voltron’s not the answer to everything.” She sat back up, breathing heavily. “Lance, I think you were the MVP this time.”

“Aww, thanks Pidgey,” Lance crooned, cracking a grin at Pidge’s offended noise. “You all were great.”

Keith cleared his throat. “Pidge is right Lance. You fought really well.”

 “Th-thanks Mullet,” Lance stammered.

The slightly awkward silence was broken by Pidge.

“Lance called Shiro Dad.”

“It was the song!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used in this is Big Fun, from the Heathers musical.


	6. She Used To Be Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry?

Lance drifted. There was no better word for it. He drifted.

No matter how much time he spent there, the Castle refused to feel like home. And why should it? His home was back on Earth, on the beaches of Varadero, in the arms of his family and warmed under the blazing sun.

So Lance drifted aimlessly from room to room, fighting the urge to go gaze into the star-filled void. He found himself in the armoury, staring at the white, blue and black of his paladin armour. The words slipped from his lips before he could help it, only accompanied by the quiet clacking of his shoes against the cold floor.

“It’s not simple to say, some days I don’t recognize me~”

He knew the song’s context was completely different from his own situation, but right then he couldn’t bring himself to care. The feeling of the song definitely echoed his own melancholy.

“That these shoes and this apron, this place and its patrons, have taken more than I gave them~”

The armour looked icy in the cool blue light, shining lowly. It stared down at him impassively and Lance could almost see the blood staining it.

“It’s not easy to know, I’m not anything like I used to be, although it’s true, I was never attention’s sweet centre, I still remember that girl~”

It was kind of funny how easily Lance’s voice climbed into the high notes that he’d struggled to hit in what seemed like forever ago.

“She’s imperfect, but she tries~”

And how true that was. He tried _so_ hard, tried to fit in, tried to be useful, tried to be someone that his family would be proud of. He cracked jokes to boost morale, only to be met with scowls and dirty looks. He flirted to lighten low moods, to be met with reprimands and angry glares.

“She is good, but she lies~”

One thing that Lance hated to be was a bother. So he lied. He lied that snappy remarks didn’t hurt him, lied that he was fine. He was a theatre kid. If he hadn’t been so in love with the sky, he could’ve been an actor, and made his living in lies.

“She is hard on herself, she is broken and won’t ask for help~”

It wasn’t Lance’s fault that he held himself to (Hunk’s words) an impossibly high standard. Maybe he was hard on himself, but if he didn’t then he wouldn’t even be here. Huh. Maybe if he didn’t hold himself to such a high standard he would still be home. But then Blue wouldn’t have a pilot, and the universe would be doomed. Actually… she could definitely find a different (and better) paladin.

“She is messy, but she’s kind~”

Again, another line that described Lance perfectly. Messy, but kind. He took great pride in his empathy, but it was a double-edged sword. He _loved_ and _hurt_ in greater measures than anyone he’d known, and while that love could be a good thing, sometimes it led to greater hurt.

“She is lonely, most of the time~”

Boy, wasn’t that accurate. The Castle was large and cold, and Lance had never been lonelier in his life. Yes, his big personality had scared off a good number of his peers when he was a child, but he did have friends. Up in the endless abyss of space, the only one Lance _really_ had was Hunk, his best friend. Yes, he could trust the other Paladins to have his back in a battle, but that was only then. In a battle. He hadn’t bared his soul to them, let the tears pour in hot streaks down his face as he recounted fears and worries and insecurities to big brown eyes and warm arms. Hunk was his confidant, his brother in everything but blood, whom Lance loved more than he loved himself.

“She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie, she is gone but she used to be mine~”

Lance dragged his gaze away from the glaring white sheen of the armour and padded from the room. Blue whirred in the back of his mind, and he absentmindedly chartered a course to her hanger.

“It’s not what I asked for~”

He broke into a run, shoes thundering against the hard floor.

 “Sometimes life just slips in through a backdoor and carves out a person, and makes you believe it’s all true~”

The door to Blue’s hangar was open when he got there, and as he skidded in he stopped singing for a moment, catching his breath. He stared up at Blue, who gazed down impassively. He could feel her in the back of his mind, purring lowly, but physically she looked the embodiment of apathy.

“And now I’ve got you~”

The words came out in a rushed whisper, out of melody and out of tune, but he didn’t care- couldn’t care.

“And you’re not what I asked for, if I’m honest I know I would give it all back for a chance to start over, and rewrite an ending or two… for the girl that I knew~”

He regretted the words as soon as they came, very nearly belted, from his lips. Blue’s presence receded from his mind, leaving faint feelings of duel hurt and understanding.

 _I’m sorry,_ he thought, but continued singing.

“Who’ll be reckless, just enough~”

Yes, Lance was reckless, but it was a different type of recklessness than Keith’s own fiery abandon.  His was cooler, less careless and more a way to prove himself, to prove that he was worth the Lion that had chosen him.

“Who’ll get hurt, but who learns how to toughen up when she’s bruised, or gets used by a man who can’t love~”

Getting hurt was part of being a Paladin, he knew this. That didn’t mean he liked it though, but he was still willing to take a hit for any of his fellow Paladins, no matter what.

“And then she’ll get stuck~”

Stuck. That was a good word for it. Lance was stuck, stuck in a castle in the endless abyss of space, stuck away from his family, and stuck in a war he didn’t ask to be in.

“And be scared of the life that’s inside her, growing stronger each day ‘til it finally reminds her, to fight just a little, to bring back the fire in her eyes~”

He was scared. There was no denying it. He was terrified of failing, of getting the others hurt in a way that the healing pods couldn’t fix.

“That’s been gone, but used to be mine-~”

Lance let his voice trail off, and took a deep breath.

“Used to be mine~”

He held the note with practiced ease.

“She is messy, but she’s kind~” Lance crooned, voice lowered significantly from the near-belting volume he’d displayed previously. “She is lonely, most of the time. She is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie, she is gone but she used to be mine~”

Closing his mouth, Lance slumped down onto the floor, folding his legs and staring up at Blue.

“Blue?” No response. “My darling?” Nothing. “Lion of my life?” A flicker of amusement. Lance smiled. “You know I didn’t mean it right, it was just a song.” Blue’s consciousness brushed against his own, bringing with it a touch of quiet reprimand. She knew just as well as he did, if not more, that Lance missed his home with the passion of a thousand suns.

Someone clearing their throat brought Lance from his thoughts. He turned to see Hunk, standing in the doorway. His eyes were wide.

“Hunk?”

Lance hated the way his voice cracked, betraying his vulnerability. Taking a few steps into the room, Hunk said nothing. Lance fought back the hot, traitorous tears threatening to prick at the corners of his eyes and brought his knees up to his chest. Hunk took a knee beside him, and wrapped him in a warm embrace.

Blue put her barrier up, isolating the three of them from the outside world. Lance let the tears loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song used is She Used To Be Mine, from Waitress.  
> Please, suggest songs and the kind of scenario you'd like to see them in. I'll try my hardest to make it work.


End file.
